A recent study reveals that 51 percent of women in the Nome Census area have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence — or both — during their lifetimes.

Andre Rosay leads the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center team that conducted the study, which was supported by Kawerak Wellness and the Bering Sea Women’s Group. Rosay says the study is the first of its kind in the Bering Strait region — going beyond Nome to include 15 neighboring communities.

The numbers are staggering; more than half of the women surveyed say that they’ve experienced specific acts of violence, either sexual or physical, during their lifetime.

“And what’s even more shocking is when you think about the fact that that’s a conservative estimate,” said Rosay.

He explained the study, which was conducted using randomly selected phone numbers, excludes certain demographics. The survey results only included women who speak English, and have a permanent address. Questions were also designed to be behavior specific — meaning women were asked about certain examples of violent behavior, but not all possible behaviors.

Additionally, Rosay said the survey doesn’t account for the number of times a woman may have experienced violence in her life — only that she has experienced it.

Despite its limitations, the survey revealed that roughly one in two women in the region have experienced some kind of violence in their lifetime — and one in ten have experienced violence in the past year.

“So I think the conclusion that we’ve reached is that the level of violence against women is really unacceptably high,” Rosay said. “And that is true throughout Alaska, for every single region.”

Panganga Pungowiyi is the Director of Kawerak’s Wellness Program. She says the new data gives service providers an unprecedented tool to track, and potentially treat, domestic violence issues in the region.

However, she acknowledges that the numbers are not easy to hear. And she’s prepared for a variety of responses from community members — not all of them positive.

“Anger is a very natural reaction to numbers like this. Anger is a very natural reaction to the behaviors. But in the overall picture, when we’re looking to change things, it’s so important to steer that anger in the right direction and use it as energy to address issues,” she said.

Pungowiyi added that her own reaction to the numbers is mixed. As a provider who works to promote wellness in the region, she said she’s relieved to see concrete data on the issue.

But as a person who has experienced some of the behaviors listed in the survey, she also feels for women who took the survey and responded “yes.”

“I feel empathy and I feel hurt for them,” said Pungowiyi. “And also I feel relieved because many times people don’t speak about the hurts that have happened to them. So to be on the phone and have someone say, ‘Yes I believe you and I’m sorry this happened to you’…I think it would feel good to know that somebody cared.”

Moving forward, both Pungowiyi and Rosay hope the numbers will serve as a touchstone for more open discussion of the issue.

“I really hope that the numbers can be helpful to raise awareness,” said Rosay. “Not just in Nome, but throughout Alaska. And we really hope that will generate discussion about our next steps. And what can we do to lower these rates.”

Pungowiyi said the increased transparency also creates a learning opportunity on the part of service providers.

“We ask people what are the successes you’ve had intervening in violent situations,” she said. “We ask people to honor their own strengths. Because they are strong. People in this area have survived a lot. And we want honor that…and to build on it.”

Both Kawerak Wellness and the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center intend to use the survey as a baseline for future data gathering, with a follow-up survey planned for 2020.

If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence or abuse, you can contact the Bering Sea Women’s group at (907) 443-5444 or visit them on the web.

For more information and resources, you can also contact Kawerak Wellness at (907) 443-4393.

A tremendous and heartfelt “thank you” from KNOM and from our guests to all of our callers who shared their experiences of harm and how they’ve tried to help. In our calls we heard from Gail in St. Mary’s, who shared with her the grief of losing her son; we heard from Bridie in Nome who spoke to the importance of interventions; Roger in White Mountain who asked, are our communities up to the challenge in addressing harm and working toward solutions; to Mary in Emmonak who spoke to the importance of speaking up and telling someone if you or someone you know is being sexually abused; to Randy in Nome who voiced his frustrations with intervening and how that has not always turned out as he had hoped; and to Larry in Emmonak who encouraged people to invoke a power greater than themselves in difficult times.

In addition to our guests Panganga Pungowiyi with Kawerak Wellness and Kari van Delden, M Ed., with UAF Cooperative Extension Service, we also featured Doug Modig, a cultural consultant with the Rural Providers Conference.

Harm can come to people in small ways and more serious ways. People’s choices can lead to harm, either to themselves or to others. Sometimes a situation just doesn’t seem right, and we feel like we should do or say something. Other time we see things escalate in front of us, or we pick up on signs before someone actually gets hurt.

This week on Sounding Board, we’re talking about ways we protect one another from harm in all its forms, and what we can do stop it when we see it happening.

How do you look out for other people in your community?

What ideas can you share to help take care of each other and keep people from getting hurt?

How can we be proactive in shaping our communities to make them safer?

We all have a part to play. Silence and inaction don’t solve anything, but by speaking out and doing something to help, we make our communities safer, healthier, and happier.

“The Christ Child is about to be born, the one promised by the angel. Mary’s “fullness of time” has arrived. Except that the birth is scheduled according to the emperor: A decree went out that all should be numbered.

Caesar decreed a census, everyone counted; Caesar intended to have up-to-date data for the tax rolls; Caesar intended to have current lists of draft eligibility; Caesar intended taxes to support armies, because the emperor, in whatever era, is always about money and power, about power and force, about force and control, and eventually violence.

And while we wait for the Christ Child, we are enthralled by the things of Caesar — money…power…control, and all the well-being that comes from such control, even if it requires a little violence.

But in the midst of the decree, will come this long-expected Jesus, innocent, vulnerable, full of grace and truth, grace and not power, truth and not money, mercy and not control.

We also dwell in the land of Caesar; we pray for the gift of your spirit, that we may loosen our grip on the things of Caesar, that we may turn our eyes toward the baby, our ears toward the newness, our hearts toward the gentleness, our power and money and control toward your new governance.

We crave the newness. And while the decree of the emperor rings in our ears with such authority, give us newness that we may start again at the beginning, that the innocence of the baby may intrude upon our ambiguity, that the vulnerability of the child may veto our lust for control, that we may be filled with wonder and so less of anxiety, in the blessed name of the baby we pray.”